The Brookhaven leader., 1887-10-20
BRooKnAvEN, Miss, Aug.15, 1887.

inst, has been received, with an en-
closed printed copy of your letter to
En- Governor Lubbock of Texas
You ask me to indicate the passages
in that letter which to my mind .justi-
fly the criticisms / am reported to
have made in public address, por-
tion of which was published in the
Times-DcmOcrat. Before doing SO
will correct slight error in letter
just received. YOu say the letter
to Ex-Governor Lubbock "is referred
to as being in favorof the open saloon
and against moral reform" What
did say was that "the name of the
most distinguished Mississippian,"
etc, was SO used. And was it noti
Mr.. Reagan said in reply to your
letter: "But the talismanic power of
your great name is being paraded
against the prohibitionists," etc.
And again: Your letter is being read
and applauded by every salOOn-keep-
er and dram drinker in Texas to-
| day" An extract of similar purport
might be quoted from Texas news
papers and private letters, to say
nothing of the religious and much of
the secular press of the entire cOun-
try. That your hOnOred name was 80
used, | repeat, is to me the most pain
full filct connected with that memOr
able contest. You refer to my saying
you were "betrayed into writing Il
line against the reform of the age"
consider th9 movement against the
liquor traffic with all its attendant
crime, wretchedness and sorrow as the
''refOrm of the age" AS its avOwed
purpose is to close liquor saloons,
thereby removing temptation from the
young especially and aiding in cor
recting the drinking habit of society,
the movement is dominated as ere
form" Its objects is refOrmatory,
whatever may be its success. On this
account I call it "refOrm of the age"
In the Ex-Governor Lubbock letter
YOU characterize it as "the pOpularism
of the day." And believing, as | do,
that most of the drunkenness, shame,
sorrow and crime of the day are
clargeablc to the liquor traffic, ldeem
it no extravaganza to say that a move
ment designed to suppress it sis the
reform of the age" All other public
measures in my judgement retire into
insignifcance before its lofty pur-
poses and promised benedictiOns. As
your letter was an argument against
| the constitutional amendment prOhi-
biting the manufacture and sale OF
Intoxicating liquors, and therefore to
my mind, against "the reform of the
age" | need not refer to specific
passa res in justification of the report
ed criticism.
You refer to my saying that your
words had "become the shibboleth
of the saloOns'n The Hon. John IL.
Reagan used language nearly as strong
when he said: "Your letter is being
read and applauded by every saloon
keeper and dram -drinker to-day" /
will not reproduce here extracts from
whisky papers | have seen, nor the
notices on placards, transparencies
and banners ut prohibition meet
ings i'm Texas. They would be pain
ful both to you and myself, but would
abundantly Justify the criticism above
Your words about destroying personal
liberty and moral responsibility and
"this effort to control morals by leglS-
lation," are ON the lips of every sa-
loon-keeper. And your character
ization of local prohibition as ''the
wooden horse in whicha disguised en-
envy to state sovereignty, as the guardian
ofindividual liberty, wasintroduced," /"
has become a pet phrase with the
advocates and frequenters OF the sa-
loon. ] do not for moment enter
tain the thought that you are an en-
envy to temperance, morality and true
religion. Your long, noble life of
stainless integrity and marked purity
would resent such a suggestion. 1t
has been pride of mine to refer to
YOUR checkered public career as con-
spicuously free from habits that have
shadowed the regulations of some OF
Americas greatest statesmen. but
the effect of your letter has been hos
tile to the temperance reform so dear
to the hearts of multiplied thousands
of the truest christian men and wO-
men of our country. Nor do L lm-
peach your honesty of convictions ON
the principles involved in this contest.
/ Nor were YOUR views "an unwarrant-
/ able intrusion" Believing that the
amendment was wrong in principle
and would be evil in its effects, you
had a perfect right to speak on the
i subject. But, differing widely from you,
lbOth as to the theory and policy OF the
legal and constitutional suppression
of the liquor traffic, and noting the
effects of your letter upon the cause In
which honestly believe is involved
the moral, and, therefore commercial
and constitutional well beinaofour be-
loved country, felt bound in con-
science to publicly dissent from the
Lubbock letter. And l shall never
cease to regret that you felt cOnstrain-
ed to depart from the rule OF silence
ON that subject heretofore observed
And be assured my dear sir, that my
criticism was as painful to me as to
YOU. My purpose was to speak OF you
personally and of your eminent pub
Tic services, not only with patriotic
pride, but with real personal affection,
and the same time dissent most
positively from your views ON prohi-
, hition and lament the effect of the
Lubbock letter. 1t is sorrow to me
:, that your distinguished name hereafter
: in every contest with the rum power
will be quoted as championlng the
/, omen saloon. And / can but lelleve
I that if YOU could have foreseen the
t use made of your letter by the basei
7 elements of society, and the grief !,
: has occasioned the better 1T would
I never have been written. t
+ ~ IGQ Very respectfully yours,
4 s.af~